To interact with this page you must login. Signup

Are inmates really the ones writing answers to 'The Last Mile' San Quentin questions?

Most of the answers I've seen seem (impossibly?) articulate, with perfect grammar, spelling, etc. And, the inmates write in complete paragraphs with coherent opening thoughts and conclusions. For example, see Kenyatta Leal's answer to Where is it worse to be imprisoned, in a US state or a federal prison? Why? . Perhaps my own biases are showing through, but I have a hard time believing that so many of the inmates are so articulate. The answers say these communications are "facilitated by approved volunteers" -- in practice how much editing / coaching / re-writing do these approved volunteers provide?

crime

prisons

quora

life

understand

tynamite

Who said prisoners couldn't be intelligent and articulate? They are a product of their environment [and social class or occasionally upbringing], not their intellect and mental capacity. Especially as this is America, which systematically targets and chastises the poor (scum), with their abnormally high prison population (more prisoners than Europe has), removing the "degenerate scum" from society, and then stigmatises them to the public media to further install such whitewashed values.

Prisoners are a product of their environment.

tynamite

Mark

Writing ability is not a product of environment?

tynamite

Me

No it isn't, but being in prison is.

tynamite

Mark

So, to be clear, you think there is no causitive relation between the environment you're brought up in and your ability to write?

tynamite

Me

Yes there is a causitive relation of that, but people inside and outside prison can be articulate.

However people outside of prison are not there due to being poor.

That's the difference.